 let's turn to the book of Revelation. And this evening, what I want to do is provide an overview for chapters four and five. And then next time we're together, we'll begin an exposition of four and then move into chapter five after that. Let's pray first for the preaching, for the hearing of the word, and then we will get right into this evening's study. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You again, Lord, for gathering us together. We thank You for all of the work that You've given us to do, Lord, in Haiti, in Guatemala, the work here, and the things that even now we don't anticipate, Lord. We thank You that You have counted us worthy in Christ, Jesus, to serve You in this way. And we ask, Lord, as we study Revelation chapters four and five in particular and the whole book moving forward, that You would give us a grand perspective, Your perspective upon history. Help us, Lord, not only to know these things that are in, know the things that are in this book, but to live in light of them. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. As Pastor Mark has been introducing the book of Revelation, he's done a good job sort of outlining various things and laying out structures for the book. But as you read the book of Revelation, I know that it still can be kind of confusing because of all of the imagery and all of the symbolism that is in the book. So what I want to do first is provide an overview, an outline of chapters four and five. It's a very basic outline of chapters four and five. Chapters four, five, and six actually all go together. They're sort of one piece, but we'll focus on chapters four and five. And then what I would like to do is go to the Old Testament and take a look, read some texts that provide the Old Testament background for Revelation chapters four and five. So then when we're doing the exposition and we make reference to those texts, we won't have to take the time to go back and read all of them again. So let's begin with reading the text. I want to read four and five together in your hearing. So Revelation chapter four. After these things, I looked and behold, the door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me said, come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things. Immediately I saw in the spirit and behold, the throne was standing in heaven and one sitting on the throne and he who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance and there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were 24 thrones and upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne, there was something like a sea of glass like crystal and in the center and around the throne four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion and the second creature like a calf and the third creature had a face like that of a man and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle and the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings are full of eyes around and within and day and night they do not cease to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty who was and who is and who is to come. And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne to him who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders will fall down before him who sits on the throne and will worship him who lives forever and ever and will cast their crown before the throne saying worthy are you, our Lord and our God to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and because of your will they existed and were created. I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back sealed up with seven seals and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, stop weeping, behold the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals. And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing as if slain having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. When he had taken the book the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints and they sang a new song saying worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation you have made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God and they will reign upon the earth. Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and every created thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them I heard saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb the blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever and the four living creatures kept saying amen and the elders fell down and worshiped amen may God bless the reading the hearing and the preaching of his word so this is just a marvelous right like this this is um this is what the people of God long for to enter into the presence of God when when when a believer dies now we enter into this place and there we stand with this great company and worship God one day that worship will be on a new heavens and new earth with resurrection bodies but until then until the day of the Lord until the coming of the Lord if a believer dies this is where they enter and and Paul said that he longed to be here right so this is a very um a very glorious and wonderful picture and if you've read your Old Testament as we were reading these two chapters again chapter six is connected very tightly because chapter six then is the opening of the seals there's a description of the opening of the seven seals in chapter six but if you've read your Old Testament you you've heard a lot of things here that you maybe have heard throughout the Old Testament and what I want to do then is provide that Old Testament context so we're going to read a lot of the Bible and I personally enjoy doing that so as you can tell I did this is um reading the Bible is better than most sermons so let's turn now so so you have so let me explain the scene then first you have the opening scene where John is called up into heaven and we're presented generally with the scene of the inside of the temple that's in heaven that's that's section one here and that's verses one through four you know you see various things like the throne the elders then you have a really a focus upon the throne and a description of the things that are around the throne what it looks like and remember throughout this text similes are used I saw something like that kind of wording and that's important um one commentator wrote this and I thought it was very very helpful we may be confused by the blend of resemblance and variation between John's visions and those of his Old Testament predecessors in prophecy but the prophetic vocabulary of simile should lead us to expect fluidity prophetic vision is not intended to provide photographic reproduction of what spirits such as cherubim and seraphim look like that's not the point that the the point of these images is not so that you could get a tattoo right and I'm not doing like a thing against tattoos I'm just saying we're not giving we're not given like these crisp no it's similes prophetic vision is not intended to provide photographic reproduction of what spirits such as cherubim and seraphim look like rather in prophetic vision god adapts to the need of the moment the visual metaphors by which he portrays aspects of truth about himself and his heavenly courtiers so god is revealing or he is showing to john in this vision and then as we'll see to the prophets various aspects and different truths regarding that that heavenly realm that heavenly realm another commentator put it really succinctly he said a vision revelation four five and six is a vision that symbolizes not a photograph that realizes a vision that symbolizes not a photograph that realizes and that's something that we have to remember so the structure of the text so verses one through four we get a general picture of the temple verses five through seven verses five through seven we get a specific look at the throne images emanating from and around the throne beginning at verse eight we have the worship of the creator that's eight through the end of the chapter so chapter four really is broken into three parts verses one through four verses five through seven verses eight through eleven and then chapter five opens with a book and that is verses one through five verses six through nine the lamb the lamb excuse me six through eight is the lamb six through eight is the lamb nine through ten is the new song nine through ten is the new song and then eleven to the end of the chapter eleven through fourteen is worship of the lamb eleven through fourteen so that's the general structure of the chapter and you have the throne room god the father the spirit is there there are angels there there are other heavenly beings and then into that throne room enters the lamb and then the lamb receives blessing honor glory dominion forever and ever now does that reading that does that bring to mind any old testament text there any old testament text that comes to mind daniel daniel seven really revelation chapters four and five are a commentary on daniel seven let's turn to daniel seven in daniel chapter seven is the benefit of having worked through daniel corporately and then working through the book of revelation you have the background but we'll review it again this evening to help clarify these things and then as we work slowly through chapters four and five we'll see this in greater detail daniel chapter seven beginning at verse nine i kept looking until thrones were set up you see right the same same imagery that john sees you have thrones being set up in heaven and then in particular now he focuses upon the ancient of days he took his seat his vesture was like white snow and the hair of his head like pure wool what figures of speeches he using similes his throne was ablaze with flames its wheels were a burning fire a river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him in revelation chapter four you have the sea of glass in exodus when the elders eat they ascend the temple the mountain and they eat with god there is a platform of sapphire that they eat on all of these are it's not they're not different locations this is what the prophets are seeing and divisions are overwhelming remember god is a spirit he doesn't have a body like we do god lives in unapproachable light even in heaven or in the new heavens in the new earth you're not going to walk up to god and shake his hand he is a spirit he will continue to be one but what these texts are revealing or helping us understand is some aspect of the heavenly reality verse 10 a river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him thousands upon thousands were attending him did we hear that already in revelation and myriads upon myriads were standing before him the court was the court sat and the books were open and we have a book books here and the book in revelation now look at verse 13 so so you have a glimpse you're giving a glimpse in daniel chapter seven of the throne of god that courtroom inside the temple you get a picture not a picture right a symbol but it's hard to shake the vocabulary right you get this this symbolism a representation a prophetic representation of this heavenly court now look at verse 13 verse 13 i kept looking in the night vision and behold with the cloud of heaven one like a son of man was coming and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him so is the son of man in heaven with god or is he coming into heaven to god he's coming to heaven on clouds what does that sound like luke 24 and the ascension acts chapter one this is this is we can't uh we have to be careful about strict chronology but in essence what is being communicated as is that this is when the son of man enters into heaven and of course this would be at the resurrection and to him was given dominion glory and the kingdom and what we see in the book of revelation is that the son of man the heavenly son of man this divine being is the son of david is the slain lamb and all of that symbolism is brought together in one person the first chapter of the book we're reading for for for groups covers a similar point very helpful and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all the people that that excuse me that all the people's nations and men of every language might serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed and revelation really unpacks and expands what this means in essence remember at after the resurrection jesus says matthew chapter 28 all authority in heaven on earth has been given unto me therefore all right go into all nations okay so really so so that that's the structure and here in daniel you have revelation four and five depicted in this particular way now there are some other places that are that are important for some of the imagery that will see in the book of revelation that the imagery that were given is not alien to the bible it's not the first time that many of the things that we see in revelation appear in the bible so let's briefly take a look at isaia six and i in isaia chapter six isaia the prophet is called intimate into the ministry as it were he's called to be a prophet isaia chapter six verse one in the year of king is i is deaf i saw the lord sitting on a throne lofty and exalted with the train of his robe filling the temple and now john tells us that this is jesus isaia saw his glory and spoke of him but we have the same throne room and remember in revelation god and the lamb are both on the throne so there's no difficulty here with this being a pre-incarnate revelation with the often the often of christ his robe filled the temple seraphim stood above him each having six wings with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew and one called out to another and said holy holy holy is the lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory and the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out while the temple was filling with smoke so the that's why i called that um when john is called up into heaven revelation chapter five that's why i called it a temple because that's where these things take place there is a heavenly temple a heavenly temple and in exodus chapter 25 we're gonna so so that's the the text of isaia now i'm picking up here off of this uh temple like the temple here and i want to show you something in exodus that's important in exodus chapter 25 in exodus chapter 25 and verse 10 look look back at uh verse eight exodus chapter 25 verse eight let them construct the sanctuary for me now this is god commanding the people of israel this is before right chronologically in the history of israel before the vision of isaia isaia enters into a heavenly temple but here let them construct the sanctuary for me that i may dwell among them the the sanctuary the dwelling place of god is god's temple that's what's being talked about here according to all that i'm going to show you as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of its furniture just so you shall construct it the fact that there's a pattern right that they're going to be given a particular pattern that they're going to base and that they're going to build the earthly representation of this pattern one more text hebrews eight five and this is along the same line hebrews eight five hebrews chapter eight verse five i'm going to read from oh chapter seven hebrews chapter eight verse i'm going to start at verse four now if he were on earth he would not be a priest at all since there are those who offer the gifts according to the law who serve a copy a pattern and a shadow of the heavenly things just as moses was born by god when he was about to erect the tabernacle for c he says that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain there's a temple in heaven and the sanctuary on earth is modeled after that pattern so what isaac is although in symbolic image in that spiritual realm that isaac enters and that john enters that's the real thing that's the reality the the physical temple in jerusalem or even the tabernacle those were just patterns and they were modeled after the heavenly reality where god dwells where god dwells okay now we're almost at time i want to look at one more text then in ezekiel in ezekiel chapter one and this is going to touch upon the the angelic beings in particular the angelic beings and in ezekiel chapter one verse four as i look behold the storm wind was coming from the north a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and bright light around it and remember the the spirit would leave the people in a glory cloud in the old testament and then you have flashes of lightning this peels of thunder brightness flashing very similar to what john sees within it were verse five were figures resembling four living beings and this was their appearance they had human form each of them had four faces and four wings their legs were straight and their feet were like calves hooks and they gleamed like burnish bronze under their wings and on their foresides were human hands as for the face and wings of the four of them their wings touch one another their faces did not turn when they moved each went straight forward as for the form of their faces each had the face of a man all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left and all four had the face of an eagle and remember there's a separation or a distinction in the four flying angelic beings in revelation one looks like a lion one looks like a calf one looks like an eagle one looks like a human such were their faces verse 11 their wings were spread out above and each had two touching other excuse me two touching another being and two covering their bodies and each went straight forward wherever the spirit was about to go they would go without turning as they went I'll read one more text in Ezekiel chapter 10 Ezekiel chapter and you can read the rest of Ezekiel chapter one and if it's the first time you're you read it you'll be confused but then you go back and you read it a couple more times and outline it and you won't be asking for the vision of God's glory now departing the earthly temple is what we have here verse one then I looked and behold in the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim and now we have these angelic beings given a name the cherubim something like a sapphire stone in appearance resembling a throne appeared above them right and remember it was like fire in Isaiah it's a sea of glass in revelation it's a found date at this same terminology is used in um exodus when the elders ascend up the mountain with moses and he spoke to the man clothed and linen and said enter between the world the whirling wheels under the cherubim and fill your hands with the coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city and the same kind of imagery is taken up in Isaiah so um what's the application why do I apply this sermon this was an even a sermon we just read a bunch of passages together the the word of God interprets the word of God it so take heart as we read or as we uh preach through and interpret the book of revelation there are places in the bible that you can go to like you don't have to go to tomahawk helicopters you don't have to go to like you know like the chip on your card is the mark of the beast and bark that's you don't have to go there the the bible helps you interpret the bible right so take heart the lord does not want to confuse us there is enough material in the bible to help us uh to help us interpret obscure and unclear texts okay i think next week we have our next week we preach or meeting membership matters so the following week then is baptism no the following week then the 22nd we come back and we'll get into a chapter four proper let's pray heavenly father we thank you again for this opportunity to gather together i pray that you would help us lord meditate upon the passages that were help us to meditate upon the passages that were referred to this evening help us to read over the revelation four and five so that we may have a grasp upon the text so that when it's preached or they might be understanding again lord i pray that you would bless this study in christ my prayer amen